On Sunday, July 29, 2018, I traveled for ten hours from Cloudcroft, New Mexico to my home in Helotes, Texas. That’s El Paso, Texas in the second image. That’s me and my traveling buddy, Al in front of my home. And, finally, that’s a fawn in our greenbelt that I captured on Thursday, August 2, 2018. Home safe! Thank you followers for going with me on my road trip from Texas to Alaska and home again.
On Saturday, July 28, 2018, after a nice visit with my brother and many of the locals, Chuck let me out in the woods to try and photograph the elk and deer around the area. Didn’t get the elk or the deer fawn we saw. Here is a picture of the mother! Thank you again, Chuck for always taking good care of me in Cloudcroft! I love you.
On Friday, July 27, 2018, I traveled to Cloudcroft from Albuquerque. When I pulled onto I-25, I saw the most incredible Orange Full Moon. I was thinking what a great way to end my road trip with such a great image; however, the image is only now in my mind’s eye. There was no exit for eleven miles. Sometimes, you just don’t get the shot! I always like to stop by Cracker Barrel for a good breakfast. A roadrunner walked by the front door just after they opened at 6:00 AM. There were rabbits near the parking lot. And, I watched several hot air balloons rise as I enjoyed my breakfast. New Mexico has some wonderfully unique rest areas. I stopped by Carrizozo, New Mexico before driving up the mountain to visit with my brother before returning home to Texas. The Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography is said to be the largest photography gallery in the state of New Mexico. Thirty or more New Mexico photographers display their work there. They open at 10:00 AM and close at 5:00 PM. I encourage visitors to stop by and carefully look at all the images. It’s a “must” stop!
On Thursday, July 26, 2018, I traveled from Estes Park to Albuquerque. Albuquerque is my birth place. Thinking I would not need my telephoto lens for this drive, I packed it in a bag. What I did not anticipate was a bull elk standing in the middle of a beautiful valley going down Highway 7 from Estes Park to Boulder, Colorado early that morning. Pulled over to pull the lens out of the bag and took these three shots. That’s my campground site in New Mexico!
On Monday, July 23, 2018, I traveled from Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming to Estes Park, Colorado. On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 24 and 25, I captured these images in RMNP. On the 24th, I drove the Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake and back to Estes Park. I spent quite a bit of time around Lily Lake on the 25th.
On Wednesday, July 18, 2018, I traveled from West Glacier, Montana to Island Park, Idaho. Thursday, July 19 through Sunday, July 22 I captured these images in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons along with a visit to Jackson, Wyoming. I always get a self-portrait in front of Tom Mangelson’s Nature Gallery window with his 399 Bear image!
From Monday, July 16 to Wednesday, July 18, 2018, I spent some time around Glacier National Park and Going to the Sun Road. Here are a few images from the area. There are free range cattle on the road when you enter Montana from Canada. I camped in a roadside pullout because my KOA was full! When I found out that the second KOA was full also, I decided to see if I could find a site inside of the park. I got lucky in Loop A of the Apgar Campground. Site number 7 was available! Spent a little time in West Glacier seeing the sights and having a good breakfast. Visited the Lodge at Lake McDonald before driving over Going to the Sun Road in the afternoon. While making my return trip, I got a flat tire near Logan’s Pass Visitor Center. I first met Bill Estes, parked next to me, who offered to help with the spare tire. Bill also recruited a kind, helpful family to assist us. That’s the picture I took after everyone pitched in to help me! Thank you all. Good people do exist! That’s a picture of my tire with a very hard and sharp rock that punctured my tire. The folks at Discount Tire in Kallispell replaced my four worn tires with some new ones so I could travel safely home to Texas!
On Thursday, July 12, 2018, I drove from Tok, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon. On Friday, July 13, I drove from Whitehorse to 67 miles before Ft. St. John, British Columbia. On Saturday, July 14, I traveled on to Hinton, Alberta. On Sunday, July 15, I continued on to Montana! Here are some of the Canadian images I captured. I don’t know what you see in the cloud formation; but, I, of course, see a bear! Before entering Montana, I tried to visit what my neighbor describes as Hell’s Half-Acre, otherwise known as Head-Smashed In Buffalo Jump. I arrived after hours and will have to return next summer. They are only open from 9 AM to 5 PM.
On Tuesday, July 10, 2018, I traveled from Homer back to Anchorage, Alaska. On Wednesday, July 11, as I traveled from Anchorage to Tok, Alaska, I captured this image of a rain-drenched red fox!
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